Speed and alcohol may have contributed to a crash that split a car in two and killed two young men near the mid-Canterbury town of Hinds early today.
The two men, both 19, died at the scene of the crash, in which their car left the road, jumped a ditch and ploughed into a power pole. The car split in two on impact.
The crash was believed to have occurred sometime between midnight and 2am.
A milk tanker driver came across the scene at around 2am.
Police said speed and possibly alcohol played a part in the crash but their investigation was still ongoing.